The vantage point, published.
The full MEMS Journal archive — 29 articles across two decades of sensors, MEMS, and microtechnology.
RF MEMS maker Sofant Technologies signs $8.2 million contract with European Space Agency
Scottish radio technology compan y, Sofant Technologies, has received significant financial backing ($8.2 million) from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the European Space Agency ( ESA ) to support the commercialization of its low-cost, low-power satellite communications platform. Applying its RF MEMS technology, the…
Tronics and Airbus Group partner on RF MEMS switch development
Tronics , a designer and manufacturer of nano and microsystems, and Airbus Group , a multinational aerospace and defense corporation, announced this week their partnership for the development of capacitive RF MEMS switches and circuits. Under this agreement, Tronics accesses Airbus Group's patent portfolio through…
DelfMEMS raises $7.4 million for RF MEMS switch development
DelfMEMS, a startup company that has been developing RF MEMS switching solutions, announced this week that the company has secured $7.4 million in round C funding. The company said that the new investment will be used to support the company's growth in the next generation, wireless front-end modules for mobile…
RF MEMS: an overview of packaging techniques
by Jacopo Iannacci, Ph.D. Researcher, Fondazione Bruno Kessler In developing packaging solutions for MEMS and RF MEMS devices , one must take several considerations into account. First, the main task of the package is to offer adequate protection to the devices from harmful factors, such as mechanical shocks as…
DelfMEMS raises $10.5 million, hires new CEO
A group of European investment funds announced an investment in DelfMEMS , a developer of MEMS based switching solutions for applications in the RF communications field. The funding of $10.5 million , of which $4.5 million from the FSN PME , will enable DelfMEMS to accelerate the commercialization of its products.…
MEMS for tunable RF applications: has the time finally come?
Everybody seems to be using their mobile phones for their business and social lives these days, so each new model brings increasingly more features to our portable devices. The problem is that all these new uses bring an explosion of frequency bands that must be packed into one portable device . This can lead to…
RF MEMS switch market: overview and emerging trends
Expectations of the use of RF MEMS devices for mobile phone applications have gone through many cycles of hope and disappointment. We may now be finally entering in the mass adoption phase with the first high-volume application, WiSpry’s MEMS based tunable impedance matching device, incorporated in one of Samsung's…
RF MEMS for smartphones: what are the best opportunities?
As smartphones and tablets continue to drive the sales of MEMS devices for consumer electronics , most of the focus thus far has been on inertial sensors – MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes . Additionally, MEMS based microphones and pressure sensors are seeing continually increasing adoption. RF MEMS technologies…
MEMS foundry Silex joins $17.5 million program to develop RF solutions for 4G mobile systems
Silex Microsystems , the world's largest pure-play MEMS foundry , announced this week that it has joined an international European Union-funded program aimed at developing a new technology platform for advanced RF solutions for 4G base stations and mobile handsets . The program, "Energy-efficient piezo MEMS tunable…
Tronics to manufacture RF MEMS switches for DelfMEMS
DelfMEMS announced this week that since early 2011 it has collaborated with Tronics' MEMS fab in Dallas, Texas on the RF MEMS switch process transfer and platform qualification. With steady progress made over the past six months , DelfMEMS and Tronics say they will be able to address the high capacity needs of RF…
An overview of RF MEMS technologies and applications
by Jacopo Iannacci, Ph.D. Researcher, MEMS Research Unit of FBK RF MEMS devices are microsystems manufactured in a suitable technology platform, typically characterized by having movable micro-parts capable of reconfiguring the RF characteristics of a device. Some RF micro-components are categorized as RF MEMS…
Automated test equipment: can MEMS switches compete?
As production volumes grow and competition increases in the IC and electronics industries , switching is becoming an increasingly critical component for the automated test equipment (ATE) system makers. Simply put, test costs are growing and therefore produce a negative affect for the profitability of manufacturers…
DelfMEMS delivers custom RF MEMS samples to NTT DOCOMO
DelfMEMS, an emerging RF MEMS technology company, reported this week that it has successfully delivered custom samples to NTT DOCOMO , the Japanese mobile operator. DelfMEMS has provided arrays of custom MEMS ohmic switches to enable tunability into RF front-end modules , or FEMs, for mobile applications. DelfMEMS…
RF MEMS switches for MRI, satellite and electronic instrumentation applications
New RF MEMS metal-contact switches developed at the University of California, San Diego could make their way into MRIs and other medical equipment, satellites , and electronic instrumentation such as s pectrum analyzers and signal sources. This new RF MEMS technology was recently featured and won the top prize at…
GE partners with Avery Dennison to commercialize RF sensor technology
General Electric , acting through its Technology Ventures operation, announced this week its intent to commercialize GE's radio frequency sensing technology through a commercial license to the RFID division of Avery Dennison . According to GE, this technology will enable a wide range of low-cost wireless sensing…
RF MEMS switches and varactors finally arrive
by Jérémie Bouchaud Director and Principal Analyst, MEMS & Sensors, iSuppli Like many new technologies, RF MEMS and varactors followed a well documented trajectory. The problem as the technology emerged early in 2003 was that the devices could not live up to their initial promise, which led to disillusionment among…
MEMS based electronically steerable antennas
by John Maciel, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer, Radant MEMS, Inc. Rapid beam scanning, beam agility , the performance of diverse functions such as multiple target tracking and fire control, reduced radar cross section (RCS), and reduced physical profile are some of the numerous performance benefits to military…
Cell phone antenna troubles? RF MEMS come to the rescue
Assistance may be on the way for iPhone 4 users frustrated by dropped calls with the arrival of RF MEMS , devices that can improve the performance of antennas in cell phones, according to the market research firm iSuppli Corp. Long plagued by technological hurdles and other disappointing setbacks, RF MEMS are…
RF MEMS startup DelfMEMS secures $1.9 million funding
DelfMEMS , an emerging player in the field of RF components and developer of MEMS switching solutions , announced this week that it has secured $1.9 million in venture capital funds. This investment comes from A2D Invest, Alliansys, Finorpa , Inovam, Rhône-Alpes-Création , as well as business angels and will be…
RF MEMS aim for cell phone on-a-chip
by R. Colin Johnson Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal RF MEMS devices are tiny replacements for the dozens of discrete components used in conventional radios and hold the possibility of enabling an entire cell phone to be cast onto a single CMOS chip . Instead of duplicating the circuitry for each band…
RF MEMS switches are reliable: a comprehensive technology overview
by John Maciel, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer, Radant MEMS, Inc. MEMS switches have been in development for over 20 years at numerous industrial, academic and government research laboratories. Low insertion loss , high isolation, l ow power consumption , extreme linearity and the ability to be integrated with other…
NASA harnesses RF MEMS for climate assessment
by R. Colin Johnson, Contributing Editor MEMS Investor Journal MEMS has enabled a complete phased-array radar to fit on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). NASA has commissioned the Georgia Institute of Technology with a $2.4 million grant to build the lightweight, low-cost and pint-sized phased array radar to map…
RF MEMS phase shifters
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TeraVicta and the RF MEMS switch market
MEMS based switches for RF circuits are one of the most promising applications in the field. We spoke with TeraVicta’s President and CEO Ray Burgess about his company’s recent activities, plans for the future as well as the size and growth potential of the MEMS based switch market.